Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. ― Ozymandias, Percy Shelley In the first part of this series, we explored the birth and rise of great empires. An underdeveloped nation seizes power from its complacent foes and grows into a dominant force on the world stage. The young nation grows in size as it acquires new resources and lands. Meanwhile, the empire brings distinction and sophistication to itself through scientific and economic expansion. But there are cracks in the foundation, as greed and hedonism spread through the masses. The empire inevitably faces a slow, painful death, as it is torn apart by corrupt politicians, spineless academics, soulless celebrities, and the hopeless masses they control.
The fate of everything is death, or a transition to another form. The arrogance of civilizations, governments, cults, deities, cultures and otherwise guarantees their destruction. The US and the western world crumbling is nothing new under the sun.
I just had a refresher this morning that helps to understand our place in our existence, and to see patterns throughout history and how to approach our current climate. I recommend the watch
The one thing that is always missing from the history of empires is the point, or the moment, at which the tyrant realizes he is not God, after all. But when it's taking place in front of our eyes and being a part of it, we realize it isn't a point in time, it's a progression without mystery, but unfortunately for many, still with surprise.
Every tyrant since the beginning of tyranny attempts to prove that this time, his time, he can succeed at what no other empire has achieved. But he forgets to keep his eye on the weakness inherit in such a global endeavor and stops to enjoy its fruits before the finish line, where he always ends up, as a failure. It's happened so often that people today can turn the pages of history to observe its progression and, sadly, its end. It seems both the tyrant and his people keep hoping for a better outcome by doggedly doing the same thing over and over again...
The fate of everything is death, or a transition to another form. The arrogance of civilizations, governments, cults, deities, cultures and otherwise guarantees their destruction. The US and the western world crumbling is nothing new under the sun.
Ibn Khaldun is worth a mention in this article. He documented many of those trends 1000 years ago.
I just had a refresher this morning that helps to understand our place in our existence, and to see patterns throughout history and how to approach our current climate. I recommend the watch
https://open.substack.com/pub/mattiasdesmet/p/my-interview-with-tucker-carlson?r=swmp1&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
The one thing that is always missing from the history of empires is the point, or the moment, at which the tyrant realizes he is not God, after all. But when it's taking place in front of our eyes and being a part of it, we realize it isn't a point in time, it's a progression without mystery, but unfortunately for many, still with surprise.
Every tyrant since the beginning of tyranny attempts to prove that this time, his time, he can succeed at what no other empire has achieved. But he forgets to keep his eye on the weakness inherit in such a global endeavor and stops to enjoy its fruits before the finish line, where he always ends up, as a failure. It's happened so often that people today can turn the pages of history to observe its progression and, sadly, its end. It seems both the tyrant and his people keep hoping for a better outcome by doggedly doing the same thing over and over again...
A wealth of great information. Thank you.